


Bruised All Along

by bubblegumclouds



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Beating, Bullying, Coma, Crying, Curses, Draco Longbottom, Draco thinks he's dead, Gen, Guilt, Hallucinations, Happy Ending, Hogwarts Sixth Year, M/M, Marriage, Neville sees his parents, Reunions, Violence, Worried Draco, endgame Draco Malfoy/Neville Longbottom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-10
Updated: 2017-08-10
Packaged: 2018-12-13 19:04:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11766372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bubblegumclouds/pseuds/bubblegumclouds
Summary: Slytherin bullies beat up Neville and leave dark curses on him. Draco discovers him and tries to help.





	Bruised All Along

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoy!  
> Twitter- cutierobandrich  
> Tumblr- weasleytwinwonders

“P-Please Draco, p-please.” Neville stuttered as he spat out a new dribble of blood while he writhed in agony. Some jerk Slytherin’s had beaten him and thrown him to the floor, calling him every name they could think of as his head repeatedly bashed into the ground. Luckily they’d dragged him far out into the grass so they wouldn’t get found, so at least he had a softer landing than the concrete of the Hogwarts ground.

Draco had been wandering the grounds alone, thinking and overthinking things when he had heard someone calling for help. He made his way over hesitantly, not wanting to be a witness to murder but also not wanting to ignore it, and groaned when he saw Neville. He’d turned to walk away, not wanting to dirty up his uniform after it had just been cleaned but he stopped when Neville spoke to him.

“I-I don’t wanna die, p-please Draco, h-help me.” He pleaded as he sobbed and gasped for air. He could barely hold himself conscious with the pure agony but after all he’d suffered this was not how he was going to die. Draco paused upon hearing Neville’s pleas. He imagined what would have happened had Harry not saved him when he needed it. How he had begged, just like Neville, desperate to do anything to survive the pain. Draco turned back around and sighed, the sight of Neville was difficult to watch.

“Alright, what hurts Longbottom?” Draco asked as he leant down to Neville, he had been clutching his stomach so Draco tried to take a look. Lifting the blood drenched shirt gently, peeling it off his skin, he winced as he saw... well what could only be described as a rash. With the blood and scabs, it sort of looked like someone had taken a grater to his stomach. Draco placed the shirt down and focussed his gaze on Neville’s face. They made eye contact as Neville spluttered blood, his body convulsing with the movement. Neville tore his gaze away, sobbing again as he was convinced that this was it. This was how he was going to die. His brain had started hallucinating and Neville wasn’t sure if this was the other side or not but he could see his mum clearly in his mind.  
“M-Mum, I-I’m so sorry I’m s-so sorry. I was weak mum, I-I’m not like you, I-I can’t fight.” Neville began babbling and Draco fought back tears that were coating his eyes, he didn’t know what to do but he couldn’t watch someone die in front of him. Not now.

“Neville, Neville, come back to me. Neville.” He repeated as he placed a hand on Neville’s cheek tenderly. He realised it wasn’t making any difference so he tried to pick Neville up, dragging him off the floor. He managed to get him steady, placing his head to the side so he didn’t choke on blood.  
“Neville, it’s okay, it’s alright.” Draco had never heard this side of himself before, the caring side was never something he had needed but watching a person so close to death must have bought it out of him.  
“D-Draco, d-don’t let m-mum see my body p-please.” Neville asked and Draco responded immediately.  
“You are not going to die okay, not on my watch. J-Just, stay with me okay? Keep talking.” Draco tried to stay calm but as he got closer to the grounds he got more desperate, he wanted to shout and scream for help but that could easily have overwhelmed Neville and knocked him out so he ran as fast as he could with Neville weighing down his arms.  
“T-Thank you D-Draco, i-it was nice t-that we finally got to m-make up. E-Even though you a-are a,” Neville coughed and heaved, his body slowly giving up but he finished the sentence anyway, “s-stuck up p-prat.” He added as much of a laugh as his oxygen intake would allow and Draco smiled down at him, determined that _if_ this was his last moments (and that was a big if) then Neville deserved them to be happy.

“I-I guess I am huh, but who’s the mug carrying you back then hey? Y-You better not get too comfortable there Longbottom, y-you got blood on my favourite shirt.” Draco laughed, emotion making his voice higher and his tone softer, as he fast walked to the hospital wing.  
“J-Just for that, I-I’m gonna haunt you s-so bad.” Neville retorted weakly as he stopped squirming, the pain making everything numb. Draco noticed the absence of flailing limbs writhing in his grip and he began running, terrified now that Neville could die in the last few minutes, just before safety.  
“Neville, NEVILLE.” Draco shouted as the tears began to flow and he turned the corner towards the hospital wing. He looked down at Neville who was still spluttering, clearly trying to make a comment but unable to.

Finally, he ran into the doors and shouted for help as he sobbed. Madame Pomfrey appeared, immediately running to the bed Draco had placed Neville on. Nothing she was saying made any difference to Draco who stood sobbing by the bed, his entire body covered in Neville’s blood as he shivered.

Teachers began rushing in, some disappearing off to the hospital and some crowding around Neville but Draco stood frozen.  
“Draco, DRACO?” Miss McGonagall shouted as she placed a hand on his shoulder. The touch grounded him a little and forced him to say something.  
“N-No, he’s not... he can’t be...” Draco swallowed thickly, his chest tight and his whole body cold. He remembered what Neville had said to him, the promise he’d made just by hearing it, so he recited to back to McGonagall.  
“D-Don’t let his body b-be seen by his mum, I-I promised him t-that.” Draco said and the teacher paused for a second, nodding towards Dumbledore, before pulling him away. They all needed to find out what happened but clearly Draco needed to be away from Neville to calm down. She hurried him to her office and sat him down, placing a blanket over his pale form.

“Draco, can you talk to me? Tell me what happened?” She said calmly although she was worried. She had never seen Draco like this and it alarmed her.  
“I-I just found him. S-Someone had beaten him up and h-he was in a lot of pain. I-I tried to help, t-tried to see if there was anything I-I could recognise b-but he was just c-covered in... what looked like a-a rash.” He paused, bringing his hand up to his mouth and sobbing behind it as the memory was physically painful to remember.  
“I-I picked him up b-but we were so far out from school t-that I wasn’t sure if he’d make it. H-He was saying all this stuff about his mum l-like he was already a dead man.” Draco stopped, shaking his head. He couldn’t say any more. His throat had closed up and he could barely gasp in breaths.

“Did you do this to him Draco?” McGonagall asked simply and slowly and Draco’s head shot up.  
“No?! I-I mean, I know I-I didn’t like him but killing him... I-I could never. And when I find the person who did this I-I swear to Merlin I-I’ll make sure every part of them is-“ Draco seethed but the teacher cut him off.  
“Draco, we don’t need any more violence in this school.” She reminded him and he shot her a glance before averting his gaze back down. He heard the door open and he shot up, turning around and instantly asking about Neville. He only noticed it was Dumbledore half way through his question.  
“Mr Longbottom has been taken to St Mungo’s, he’s still alive and slowly coming around.” Dumbledore spoke and Draco didn’t leave him time to talk to McGonagall.  
“B-But h-he said, his mum, s-she can’t see him l-like-“  
“We have made sure his parents are not told about him, nor will they be seeing him. Don’t worry, Mr Malfoy.” The wise wizard spoke softly and Draco let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t long after that Draco was expelled from Hogwarts, Neville had fallen into a coma and never got the chance to tell them who did it. The teachers all had to assume it was Draco. He was sent home with immediate effect and he locked himself away, never able to go a second without the image of Neville lying dead in his arms. He thought that was it, that was his life.

School went on, the students eagerly awaited any news on Neville, yet never received any. Every day Dumbledore would get asked and every day he would say the same thing.  
“He is in the same condition as he was yesterday, and the day before.”  
People had started to come to terms with the fact that Neville was probably never going to come back.

Draco had been cut off from any knowledge of the outside world. He was certain Neville was dead and the thought haunted him every day. He spent hours agonising over every second of the encounter, everything he did and didn't do, wondering if he'd just changed something then maybe...

A thud hit his window and he looked out into the dreary abyss of land, an owl was repeatedly ramming harshly into the glass and Draco rushed to open the latch in his fumbling hands. The letter he grasped was addressed to him specifically. He prayed to anything that it was news but part of him had resigned himself to it being an Azkaban sentence.

“Dear Mr Malfoy,  
We are delighted to inform you that Mr Neville Longbottom has woken up and therefore given us the details of the events regarding his assault. You are hereby cleared of any accusations relating to the crime and we welcome both of you back at Hogwarts immediately. You shall receive your Special Services award upon the day of your return.  
Yours sincerely,  
Professor Dumbledore.”

Draco almost ripped the letter with excitement, his fingers scrunching the paper in disbelief. Neville was alive.

It was a few days later when Draco finally got to the school and it was the middle of Dumbledore’s morning speech when he burst through the door. Every table turned and watched as a sobbing Draco shoved his way through the entrance and ran towards the Gryffindor table.

“NEVILLE!” Draco cried as Neville smiled and stood up just in time to get arms full of Malfoy. He launched himself into Neville’s embrace, unable to stop the tears and trembling from sheer relief. Neville let a few tears go too as the clung to each other, never wanting to let go.  
“I-I thought you... I was convinced that...” Draco could never say it outright but Neville understood.  
“It’s okay, I’m here, I’m fine.” Neville assured, finding it comforting to bury himself in Draco’s shoulder and remind himself he was holding the boy who saved him.

“I-I’m so sorry, I’m so so sorry. I should have acted sooner, I-I should have done better.” Draco babbled but Neville was quick to shut him down.  
“You saved me Draco, you saved my life. Y-You have nothing to be sorry for!” Neville said as he pulled back, smiling at Draco who was beaming despite the upset.

Everyone was staring intently with shock, not quite sure what was happening. The hall was silent, only their hushed whispers could be heard by a certain few although by the end of the day it would quickly have been spread.  
“I got you a new shirt by the way, sorry for all the blood.” Neville laughed as he wiped his happy tears away. Draco cracked too with a laugh of disbelief and a shaking head.  
“Only you Longbottom, only you.” He replied as he looked at the shirt Neville had dragged out from under the table.  
“Thank you, for saving my life.” Neville whispered sincerely, cutting through the jokes and hitting Draco hard without a warning.  
“No, thank you, for changing mine.” Draco replied as took Neville’s hand and squeezed it tightly.

From that day on, he made sure that Neville was never in danger and yes, it was a little overprotective sometimes but Neville loved that side of him. He loved it so much that on the 10th anniversary of when he was rushed to hospital, he asked Draco to marry him. Of course, Draco said yes. He was presented with a shirt again yet this time it said ‘Future Mr Draco Longbottom’ to which Draco insisted become effective immediately.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments and kudos!  
> Twitter- cutierobandrich  
> Tumblr- weasleytwinwonders


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